Eight
by lgsparkles
Summary: The season that should have been. The story of season eight, told in the same format of the show. I know this isn't a new concept but I wanted to wrap everything up and give everyone their endings. Rated T for mild language and mild suggestive content...it's not really anything that wouldn't have been on the show, but I just wanted to be safe.
1. 08x01: Now or Never

_Author's Note: Yeah yeah, I know this isn't a new concept, but I needed my own closure for the show after the series finale...also, I'm currently unemployed and have too much time on my hands. lol. I've tried as hard as possible to stick to the format of the show and stay as in character as possible. I also bring Rory in as much as I can but since she's out on a campaign trail it's going to be pretty Lorelai-heavy. I've written each chapter as an episode, so they're all pretty long. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

08x01

**Now or Never**

It was quiet. Was it usually this quiet? And empty, definitely empty. The lights…were the lights dimmer? It seemed darker. Was there a light burned out somewhere that she hadn't noticed?

She felt the steady thump in her temple signaling the need for caffeine. It had been what, three hours? Maybe four? Wow, how the hell long had she been sitting here? A better question was how long ago she was supposed to be at the inn. Sookie told her not to bother, take the day off. She needed it. But what had she done since she'd gotten home from the airport? Sitting alone in a quiet, empty, dark living room for the rest of the day would give her way too much time. Time to worry, time to think, time to miss her daughter.

She needed coffee. Big time. She hadn't even fully decided on a destination yet before a weird, bubbly sensation crept up from the pit of her stomach. Her hand immediately went up to finger the bead on the end of the necklace she was wearing. She hadn't taken it off since last night, when he'd clasped the delicate chain around her neck.

She took a deep breath; _It's now or never_, she thought. She hopped up from the sofa, sending Paul Anka skittering into the corner with fright. The sudden burst of energy shocked her, considering the lack of sleep she'd had and the ungodly hour she had to get out of bed. She swiped her keys up from where she'd dropped them next to the phone hours before, swung her purse over her shoulder, and left through the front door before she had time to talk herself out of going.

"LORELAI!" Babette's wailing was so not cool right now. The throbbing in her head increased, but she turned her head towards her neighbor's porch and smiled.

"Hey Babette," she called. _Please stay on the porch. Please._

"How's Rory doin', Sugar? She left is morning?"

"Yeah." She plastered on a fake grin. "On the plane to Iowa now."

"Oh, well Honey, next time you see her, tell her me an' Maury are wishin' her the best!" Babette took a sip of what Lorelai assumed was a mid-afternoon cocktail, and snuck away while she called into the house: "MAURY! Rory's on the plane to Iowa! Bless her heart…"

Lorelai took her time, taking in the sights of the town but at the same time, not taking any of it in at all. Everyone was going about their day, a normal Tuesday. The hustle and bustle of lunchtime was just starting to die down, which didn't make it any easier for her to stall.

Once that little yellow sign came into view, she slowed her pace, resulting in almost stopping in the middle of the crosswalk. The diner didn't seem to be all that busy, from what she could see through the window. Caesar and one of the other servers were chatting by the kitchen. _Maybe I should just go to Weston's. I'm sure they're about to pick up again, I don't wanna take up any space._ The second the thought floated through her mind, the door opened and a group of four exited through it, followed by another group of two. She bit her lip, excuses running through her brain, each one more absurd than the last. Finally, after meandering across the street and down the sidewalk towards the door, about to just forget about it and head home, she felt it. On her shoulder, a single drop of rain. "God dammit," she muttered under her breath. She'd left her umbrella at home...she had no choice. She took a deep breath, allowed a few more drops to land on her arm, and pushed the door open.

The _ding_ of the doorbell sent another wave of bubbles through her, emphasizing her desperation for a cup of coffee. She slid onto a stool at the counter. Her foot jiggled nervously. She fiddled with her cell phone, spinning it around in her hands, waiting. For what, she wasn't really sure. She didn't know what to do next.

She saw a figure appear out of the corner of her eyes. They flitted upwards and immediately dropped her phone. It smashed onto the counter, snapped open, and spun across the surface, knocking into a salt shaker and disappearing over the edge. The lid of the shaker flew off when it hit the countertop, spewing salt everywhere, while at the same time she heard a loud crack against ceramic. After the cap had rolled off and joined her phone on the floor, Lorelai chomped down on her lip and glanced back up. Luke had one eyebrow raised, and although he rolled his eyes as he bent down to clean up her mess, she saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards.

"Ha. Uhm. Hello. Hi," she stammered, when he reappeared with her phone in hand. He set it down in front of her and reached for the towel that had been thrown over his shoulder. She watched him carefully while he swept the mountain of salt into his hand, and dumped it into the trash underneath the counter.

"If you're done damaging my property," he grumbled, flipping over a coffee cup. He reached around for the freshly brewed pot and filled the mug up to the brim without even asking.

"Thanks," Lorelai mumbled under her breath. She stared down into the steaming liquid, foot still shaking up and down, willing herself not to look up at him again. She didn't need to be covered with coffee _and_ salt.

"How's Rory, she make it on the plane okay?" Luke asked, after an awkward few seconds of silence.

"Yeah, uh, yep. She did." She brought the mug up to her lips and took a sip, sneaking a glance up at him. He didn't notice, as he was screwing the little metal cap back on the now half-empty salt shaker. He didn't shave this morning, she could tell.

"And how are you?" he asked carefully. She could feel his eyes on her again. She distracted herself by taking another drink, this time gulping down way too much. She could feel it burning all the way down her throat. She finally sucked it up and gave a real, hard look.

"Ah, I'm fine, yeah." She shrugged, gulping when his blue eyes met hers. Wait, was that a sparkle? Like an actual, cheesy, cartoon sparkle? She tried to avert her gaze, but the remained fixated on him. He sighed.

"Lorelai…" he started tenderly; she could see his hand sliding across the counter, and when it was an inch away from hers, she moved it back just slightly. His stopped.

"I promise, Luke, I'm fine." She grabbed her coffee cup again as an excuse to keep her hand to herself. The doorbell rang out again and Luke let out a very audible, "Ugh," when he noticed Taylor occupy a stool a few seats down from Lorelai. He pulled his notepad out of his shirt pocket, but before he could ask Taylor what he wanted, Lorelai was spotted.

"Looorelai!" He half-shouted, moving over a stool. "How's Rory!?"

"Should we just call a town meeting?" Lorelai snapped, earning her a half-confused, half-offended glare. Luke himself was taken aback, but still gave her a sly, proud smile. Taylor turned back to Luke in a huff and rambled off his order. Lorelai lifted her mug to drain the rest of her coffee when a shrill ringing came from the cell phone that was still in the same spot Luke had left it. He immediately turned to her and pointed to the door.

"NO."

"Luke, it's pour- Rory!" Her heart leapt and she flipped it open so fast she was impressed with the fact that it didn't actually break it in half. "Hey, kid!" Luke rolled his eyes, walked over to the stairs, and pulled the curtain back. Lorelai scurried through it and was halfway up the stairs before Rory had the chance to reply.

"Hi Mom!" She replied.

"How's Iowa?"

"It's…Iowa."

"Sounds thrilling."

Rory launched immediately into a story about a woman on the plane who had one or five cocktails too many, followed by a lengthy explanation of the bus she'd be living on for the next several months. Lorelai was silent, leaning against the wall, staring at the closed door across the hall from her. The sight of it triggered a memory, from just the night before. Her back against it, hot breath against her neck, before it was pushed open, his arms around her keeping her from falling backwards…

"Helloooooo," Rory called over the other line. Lorelai was jolted back to the present, and tried to ignore how hard her heart was pounding against her chest. "Earth to Lorelai."

"Yeah, uh, I'm here, yeah."

"Mom…?" She could hear Rory chuckle quietly. "Geez, get some coffee."

"Sorry, kid. Long day."

"I can tell."

"Rory." Her voice caught in her throat, resulting in an awkward, drawn out silence.

"…yes?"

"I…"

"Burning cell minutes, here." Lorelai crossed the hall, reached for the key above the door frame, and waited until she was fully inside Luke's apartment with the door closed tightly behind her before she spoke again. Lord only knew what would happen if Taylor happened to be sitting just close enough to hear the entire conversation. Ribbons would be flying left and right.

"I slept with Luke." Rory made a noise that could only be described as a deranged squeak.

"Mom!"

"Last night."

"And you waited this long to tell me _why!?"_ Lorelai bit her lip. "Mom…oh my god! Does this mean-"

"It doesn't mean…I don't know!" She crossed the hardwood floor and perched herself on the edge of April's polka-dot bedspread, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"How did this even happen!?"

"Well…I don't know!" she said again, fiddling with the edge of the comforter. "During the party yesterday, I'd gone to find him, and we were standing outside the diner…I just wanted to say thank you, you know? He did everything, stayed up all night tying up that tent, all for you. I was just so emotional, and overwhelmed, and…well, we kissed…"

"I can't _believe_ you didn't tell me this last night."

"It was kinda hard to believe myself." Lorelai took a deep breath, then continued. "The next thing I knew we were up here, in his apartment, and-"

"You're there right now?" Rory interjected suggestively. Lorelai rolled her eyes, but still smiled.

"Shush, you. It's not what you think. Anyway, afterwards I kinda…bolted. I didn't want anyone to realize we were gone. The next time we saw each other was this morning for breakfast."

"Waaait wait wait…" Lorelai winced; she knew what was coming. "So you haven't even talked?"

"Uhh, possibly not?"

"Mom!"

"I know," she groaned.

"And now you're…"

"Yes, in his apartment. He shooed me when you called and it's raining so I couldn't go outside."

"So…what now?"

"Well I already made a fool of myself and the salt shaker so I'm off to a good start." There was no reply. She heard mumbling in the background. "Rory?"

"Ahh, shoot mom, I gotta go, I'm sorry. Don't think this conversation is over!"

"Alright, have fun. And remember – that winning personality I gave you wasn't just for kicks!" Rory giggled.

"Love you mom."

"Love you too, kid."

Lorelai flipped her phone shut, suddenly feeling alone again. Was she going deaf? It was quiet here too.

When Lorelai finally made her way back downstairs, Luke was too busy arguing with Taylor over the sandwich he'd given him to notice her. She caught Caesar in time to grab a refill in a to-go cup before slipping out of the door.

* * *

The pounding in her temple was still very, very present in the morning when Lorelai woke up. She slammed the snooze button on her alarm clock, groaned, and rolled over. Like clockwork (_Ha, _she laughed internally at herself), nine minutes later, it went off again. She smacked it again and sat up, glancing around the room groggily.

She usually tried not to take in the features of the room. It always sent her mind wandering to the long nights, arguing about paint colors and tiles for the bathroom and, after they'd donated that God-awful bedroom set, furniture catalogs. Three days before the paint crew was supposed to pick up the paint, they'd really gotten into it. She'd been holding up Sherwin William's sample cards for hours, and finally Luke had stormed in, randomly flipped to the ugliest, putrid green, declared that he was telling Tom to paint the entire house in that color, and stormed out. She followed him, and they argued all the way back to his apartment. The Purple vs. Green argument, as she had dubbed it later, was easily the worst fight they'd had over the entire period of the renovation. She wanted lavender wallpaper; he'd said "No way in hell," before suggesting an awful, very 90's forest green.

"Are you _kidding _me? We're trying to make this place look _better,_ Luke."

"What, so I don't get a say in it? I just get to pay for pink walls and keep my mouth shut?"

"Oh, my God. For the last time, it's not _pink_, it's-"

"Will you two keep it _down!?"_ Taylor's voice had come from nowhere in particular, echoing out over the town square, something he did often and which made Luke nervous.

Finally, after another hour of arguing in his apartment (and several more of making up), they'd decided to compromise: blue for the bedroom, Lorelai's lavender for the closet, and the yellow Luke had picked out for the downstairs.

"_Ugh!"_ Lorelai fell back down into her pillows just as the snooze went off one more time.

* * *

The rain from the last few days had finally eased up, so she decided to walk to work. She started feeling nervous as she got closer and closer to Luke's. She'd just began eying up Weston's in the distance, when her eyes flitted past the diner. It was crowded, as per usual on any given Wednesday morning, and in the split second she'd glanced through the window, she caught his eye. He looked away immediately, but she knew he'd seen her. She huffed – there was no way she would walk by without stopping in now. And, the more she thought about it, she was really craving some pancakes and desperately needed a good cup of coffee. Weston's wouldn't cut it today.

She took her normal seat at the counter, and unlike the day before, he was waiting for her when she sat down, her favorite mug already filled to the brim with beautiful, steaming coffee.

"Thanks," she mumbled, taking a sip. When she looked back up at him, he was still standing there, regardless of how busy they were.

"Breakfast?"

"Pancakes please." She smiled politely as he started writing. She took several more gulps from her mug while he handed her order over to Caesar and came straight back. When she didn't say anything, he let out a frustrated sigh. He opened his mouth to say something when the doorbell rang. He glanced up and moaned.

"Not again!"

"Tell me about it!" came a voice behind her. Lorelai turned around and grinned hello at Jackson. "Hey…Lorelai?" He glanced curiously from her to Luke and back at her.

"What does she want now?" Luke said quickly, noticing the look on Jackson's face.

"Pancakes with chocolate chips and bacon – no, not on the side – curly fries, a cup of _decaf_ coffee, and pickles…and those _are _on the side," Jackson rattled off, impressively from memory.

"Why can't she make this stuff herself?" he grumbled, as he finished writing it all down on his notepad.

"She insists she needs _your _food today."

"Still with the ridiculous cravings, huh?" Lorelai said, chuckling. "Man, little baby Bellville is gonna-" she stopped suddenly, eyes wide, as she noticed something on the strap of his overalls. "Oh my God, Jackson!"

"What?"

"The pin." She pointed at the giant yellow circle on his chest. "You're wearing the pin! Did she…?"

"This morning," Jackson beamed and puffed his chest out. "And I still don't want to know!"

Lorelai glanced over to Luke, who was just setting down a plate of pancakes. Before she even opened her mouth, he sighed and pulled a Styrofoam container out from under the counter. She dug out a ten from her purse and grabbed the box, along with the to-go cup of coffee Luke had just poured her, and sprinted towards the door before he even had the chance to tell her not to worry about it.

* * *

"SOOKIE!" Eric, one of the kitchen staff, was so startled from the door being slammed open that he dropped a pan loudly on the floor. Sookie looked up from the breakfast pastries she was making with a wide grin.

"It's a girl!" she squealed. Lorelai dropped her food and coffee on the counter and scurried over to her for a hug. "How'd you know!?"

"Jackson wearing that ridiculous pin," Lorelai replied. "He'd just ordered your food when I left so he probably won't be he-"

"He went to Luke's…" Sookie cut her off. Lorelai bit her lip nervously and distracted herself by flipping open the box containing her pancakes. There was a flutter in her stomach; he must have dumped half a bag of chocolate chips in them, just the way he knew she liked them. "You were at Luke's this morning? Again?"

"Uh, yeah. What's the big deal?" She grabbed a fork out of the basket of clean ones next to the sink and cut herself a piece of pancake, shoving it in her mouth so she didn't have to talk.

"It's a huge deal! You've been going there practically every morning!" Sookie exclaimed. "And Babette heard from Miss Patty who heard from Andrew who heard from Kirk that you two looked _pretty_ friendly yesterday morning. Is there something going on with you two?"

Lorelai choked on the abnormally large bite she'd taken. Sookie raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her to finish.

"There's nothing going on!" A sly smile spread across Sookie's face. "Sookie, I swear."

"Alright everyone out!" she yelled all of a sudden. The kitchen staff stopped what they were doing, exchanged glances, and left through the door tothe dining room without questioning her. "Okay, spill."

"There's nothing to spill. I had coffee two days in a row. We're friends, what's the big – stop looking at me like that!"

"You're lying. There's totally something going on." Lorelai let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine," she mumbled. Sookie was downright giddy. "Monday night after I talked to you I went to talk to him, to say thank you, and…"

"And…!?"

"And…I may have thanked him a little…_too_ much."

"You slept with Luke!?" Sookie squealed.

"Who slept with Luke?" came Jackson's voice behind them.

"Lorelai slept with Luke!"

"Oh, my God," Lorelai mumbled, burying her face with her hands. She was positive it was turning red.

"Lorelai, you slept with Luke!?"

"Can we stop saying that out loud? _Please!?_"

Sookie giggled and turned her attention back to Lorelai.

"So!? Are you guys back together then!?"

"No! And I'd rather not have this conversation…_now_." She tilted her head towards Jackson.

"I know, I know," he said, noticing the lack of subtlety. "I'm just here to drop this off for Sookie."

"Oh, I don't want that anymore. Pickles…eugh." She laughed lightly and Jackson looked infuriated.

The argument that suddenly sprung up between them gave Lorelai the perfect excuse to grab her food and slip out of the kitchen and into her office.

* * *

When his headlights shone on a little green Jeep, Luke sighed. "I knew it," he mumbled. She worked too damn hard. After nine and she was still probably inside sitting in that office of hers, trying to catch up everything she missed the day before.

He grabbed the flimsy paper cup out of the cup holder and made his way to the front door of the Dragonfly, trying not to talk himself out of going inside. He hesitated at the door, then pushed it open. Sure enough, she was standing at the front counter, brows furrowed, staring intensely at the computer. She didn't look up until he'd walked up to her and set the cup down on the desk, which caused her to jump. She tensed visibly when she looked up and realized who was standing in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly, glancing around the deserted foyer. He nodded down at the cup on the desk.

"I brought you coffee."

"You drove all the way here, at nine-thirty at night, just to bring me coffee." He stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans nervously.

"Well when I realized you weren't home, I figured you were working late so I stopped at the diner and made a fresh pot to bring to you some."

"How did you know I wasn't-"

"Lorelai, can we please talk?" She straightened her shoulders and looked back at the computer.

"I can't. We have a wedding next weekend and I have a _ton_ of work-"

"Well then I'm taking my coffee back."

"We have coffee here, you know," she said, rolling her eyes.

"But you like mine better."

"So?" She glanced over and must have understood the annoyed look on his face, because she sighed. "Fine. But not here."

Without another word she took off down the hall. He followed her through the kitchen and out the back door. It was a service entrance, typically busy during the day, but at this time of night it was deserted. She closed the door behind him and when she spun around to face him she said, "What do you want?"

"Don't act like you don't know what this is about."

"You wanted to talk, so talk." She crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest. Luke rolled his eyes; she was impossible.

"Fine. You've hardly said a damn word to me since the other night, and I want to know why. I thought things were going to change, I thought we were finally going to be okay. I thought…" he trailed off, not really knowing what to say. He sucked at this.

"Thought what?" she replied. He could tell she was nervous. She was chomping on her bottom lip.

"Geez…I don't know. I just hate how awkward this is. I don't want it to be like this between us."

"I'm sorry," she said softly, sighing. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her against the light breeze and crossed her arms again. "I don't really know how to act right now. The last week…"

"I know."

"I just…I don't know. So much has happened. I don't know if I'm ready to jump back into…things."

"Yeah, we did dive right in, didn't we…?" Luke reached up and rubbed his neck.

"Not my fault. I was emotional, you took advantage of me." Luke opened his mouth to protest, but he paused when their eyes met. There was the tiniest of smiles playing on her lips.

"What are you doing on Saturday?" he asked suddenly. _This was not part of the plan…_ he thought to himself. She looked taken aback.

"Uhh, wallowing over the adulthood of my only child, why?"

"We should…I dunno. Go get dinner, or something."

"Dinner?" she replied, still looking confused.

"Yes. Dinner. And a movie."

"Really?"

"Yes. In Woodbridge. I do not have the time nor patience to deal with Taylor this week." This produced a real laugh from her.

"Okay," she said carefully. "Dinner and a movie…I can do dinner and a movie."

"Okay. Good. Great. I'll, uh…pick you up then? Seven sound good?"

"Yeah…seven, uh seven sounds great."

"Okay. Good. Well, I guess I'll see you then."

Satisfied, Luke turned towards the door.

"Luke?" He was reaching for the door handle, but before he could turn around, he heard her say, very quietly, "I missed you."

He glanced around at her. She tucked her hair behind her ear nervously, and he smiled.

"I missed you too."

* * *

"You're _what!?"_

"Going. On a date. With Luke."

"Mom!"

"Your squealing is giving me a headache, child."

"Sorry!" Rory let out a happy sigh. "I knew it."

"You know nothing!" Lorelai replied, exasperated. She stood up from the couch and made her way into the kitchen. "It's just dinner and a movie."

"Oooh fancy!" Rory said, giggling at her mother's growl. "So when do I get to start calling him Dad?"

"We are not even together!" Lorelai insisted. "We've barely even talked."

"Well yeah, you were too busy to talk."

"New subject!" The laughter coming from the other line was infuriating her. "Sookie's having a girl, by the way. She found out yesterday."

"Aw! Sookie!"

"Apparently they're having a hell of a time trying to pick out a name since they used them all up with Martha." Lorelai opened the fridge, surveyed the lack of food, then slammed it shut. "Arrgh."

"Everything alright over there?"

"I'm starving."

"_I _know where you can go."

"Shush! I am not going to…damn, I want a burger."

"Ha."

"I thought you were on my side, kid."

"I _am _on your side. Wanting you to be with Luke _is_ being on your side."

"I don't wanna rush things though, you know?" She grabbed a pop tart from the box on the counter and peeled it open. When she sat down at the kitchen table, she sighed. "Am I crazy? I mean, it's Luke. _My_ Luke. We should be able to just jump right back in. Pick up where we left off."

"I don't know…a lot has happened. You just have a lot to talk about, but I think everything will be okay. It has to be…you two are meant to be together."

"I hope you're right." Lorelai eyed the cinnamon pop tart in her hand, and took a bite. "So. Tell me about work. What's life like in the big leagues?"

* * *

Saturday came way too fast, and Lorelai was a basket of nerves. She hadn't even been this nervous for their first date, and she hadn't changed nearly as many times as she had when they'd gotten back together the first time.

She'd just decided that the dark blue dress she'd just put on for the third time wasn't right, when the doorbell rang.

"Dammit!" she muttered under her breath, spinning around to check the clock on her bedside table. It was 6:57. She gave herself one last glance in the mirror, sighed, and grabbed the cardigan she'd thrown on the bed earlier.

"I'm coming!" she called out, racing down the stairs with her shoes in one hand and purse in the other. When she whipped the door open, Luke looked momentarily frightened by the glare on her face. "You're early."

He looked at his watch.

"I'm _two minutes_ early."

"Early is early! I need all the time I can get! Looking this good ain't easy!" Once she slipped on her shoes, she stood up straight and looked at him properly. "Hi," she said, breathlessly. He gave her a shy smile.

"You look beautiful." Lorelai could feel her face heating up.

"You don't look too bad yourself there, Mr. Danes," she replied, nervously glancing towards the door. "Should we…uh…"

"Oh, yeah. Let's go." He moved over to let her pass. She was again reminded of their first date, how he'd struggled at opening the door of his truck for her, and laughed nervously at the obvious awkwardness of it.

They'd hardly said a word the entire way to Woodbridge. Lorelai kept glancing over at him, but he kept his eyes on the road. Finally, after they'd sat down at their table at the restaurant and ordered drinks, did he look straight at her and start talking.

"Lorelai…" he took a deep breath, keeping his eyes locked on hers. "We need to talk about this."

"I know we do," she replied in a small voice, heart thumping. She was frantically trying to remember everything she'd thought of, everything she'd wanted to say to him in the last year.

"I just want you to know…nothing has changed for me. I'm still in."

Lorelai's lips curved up into a smile. Her stomach was fluttering.

"Me too," she said softly. He grinned his shy grin and looked down at the table. He fiddled with his beer bottle; she could tell he wanted to say something. "Luke…"

"We don't have to…you know, do this. Right now."

"I know." She tilted her head to the side just slightly, willing him to continue. He sighed heavily and glanced up at her for only a second before going back to the bottle.

"I just…" he hesitated. Dread started to take over. She had a feeling she knew what was coming.

"What?"

"It's…Christopher."

Lorelai took a deep breath. She was right.

"Luke, I-"

"I just need to know. Are you…still…you know-"

"No." Finally he lifted his eyes to meet hers. She took a few more deep breaths before continuing. "Look. That night…that terrible, terrible night, I was so upset, and I just…I fell apart. I didn't know what to do. Chris was always my backup, he was always just…there, you know? I wasn't thinking. We were over and I couldn't handle it. I screwed up."

"Then why did you _marry_ him?"

"I don't know. I just…I don't know." Luke sighed, frustrated, and took a swig of his beer. "There was a void, you know? I needed someone to fill that void. And Chris was convenient. But then, I started to realize that I just wasn't happy. I love him…he's Rory's dad, and I'll always love him for that. He gave me the most incredible, beautiful thing in my life. But I'm not _in_ love with him. He wasn't what I wanted. As much as I wanted him to be, he wasn't right. He wasn't you."

She waited, nervous, waiting for him to speak. After a long, awkward pause, he finally took a deep breath, and reached over to place his hand over her arm.

"I'm sorry," he said, his eyes lifting to meet hers again. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why, did you sleep with my ex too?" He rolled his eyes, but she saw a glimmer of a laugh in them.

"I pushed you away, and it wasn't fair. And I'm sorry." Her lips curved into a smile.

"I'm sorry too."

"This is gonna work." He returned her smile.

"Yeah. All in. Right?" His smile widened and he gently squeezed her arm.

"All in."

* * *

"So much for taking it slow."

Lorelai smirked at him as she watched him pull on a pair of sweatpants and walk across his apartment.

"Aw, leaving already? Was it that bad?" He rolled his eyes.

"I'll be right back." After she heard the door snap shut, she sat up and pulled on the red flannel shirt that was laying on the floor. She smiled to herself, glancing around the room. She hadn't really looked around when she'd been in his apartment earlier in the week. Nothing had changed, really, except the few feminine touches she was sure came as a result of his teenage daughter. When she heard the door again, Luke came around the corner holding a metal tray and a couple forks. Lorelai's jaw dropped.

"Oh my God, I forgot how great it was to sleep with someone with pie downstairs." Luke rolled his eyes again and handed her the tray. Two pieces of blueberry pie were calling her name. She already had her mouth full by the time Luke had climbed back into bed and leaned up against the headboard.

"I figured I'd put it to good use, since I can't sell it tomorrow."

"Hey, no complaining here!" Lorelai took another bite, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him watching her. She glanced over and smiled. "What?"

"I'm just…glad you're here." He gave her a small smile and rested his hand on her knee.

"Aw, Mr. Danes, such a sap," she replied softly. She took a few more bites of the pie in silence, then set the tray down. "I should…probably…"

"You don't have to…you can stay…you know, if you want."

"I do want to…" she trailed off and sighed, pouting. "But…there's kinda only one way out of here in the morning…I don't know if we should…subject ourselves to that."

"Oh." His hand slid off her knee.

"Not…yet, at least. Hey-" She ducked her head to meet his eyes, and smiled. "We're taking it slow, remember?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Is that why you're wearing my shirt?" She chuckled and smacked him lightly on the arm before standing up to get dressed.

"That was entirely your fault, mister. You offered me coffee. Coffee which I never received, by the way."

"I'd make you some in the morning if you stayed here." He stood up and pulled on a t-shirt while she slipped her heels on. "You _could _always sneak out the back you know."

"And take my walk of shame through downtown Stars Hollow?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'll walk you home, if you want." Luke opened the door for her and she turned to look at him as he followed her down the stairs.

"Oh, thank you! Five blocks is such a long way for a 'lil lady like me!" she gushed, flaunting her best southern accent, pushing her way through the curtain. She stopped suddenly, and Luke slammed into the back of her.

"Ow! Dammit-"

"You made me coffee!" She turned to grin at him; the smell of the freshly brewed pot filled the diner. He walked past her to the machine and poured her a to-go cup.

"I don't break promises," he replied with a sly smile. He followed her to the front door and held it open for her. "See you tomorrow?" She turned towards him in the doorway and smiled.

"First thing." She frowned for a second, rethinking. "Well, more like second or third thing. It is the day of rest, after all." Luke rolled his eyes, but still smiled.

"I'll have the pancakes ready."

"My hero!" He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, and she let him; no one was awake in Stars Hollow this late on a Saturday. The street was deserted. After they'd parted and she'd descended the steps, she turned around just before he'd closed the door. "And you better be the one to make those pancakes. Yours are _so_ much better than Caesar's."

"I'll do my best," he called. "Night." He closed the door behind her and locked up, but gave her one more smile before she turned around and headed towards home.

* * *

The sun was actually shining the next morning, which was a welcome change to the soggy, rainy days Stars Hollow had been experiencing in the last week. Everyone seemed happier than usual. As she strolled down the street towards Luke's, more than one person smiled at her. She was about a block from the diner when something ran into her.

"LORELAI!" Tiny arms wrapped her and a mess of blonde curls covered her face.

"Uh…good morning, Babette," she said; Babette pulled away with a brilliant grin on her face.

"I'm so happy for ya Sugar!" In a flash, she was gone, babbling about having to get back to the cats. Lorelai frowned after her, bewildered, before turning back towards the diner.

When she pushed the door open, it was packed. She spotted Luke right away, practically jogging from table to table. He started towards her, balancing three plates.

"They know," he growled, as he swept past her.

"What?" She followed him to the table he was heading for. When he set the plates down in front of the people sitting at it, he spun around and started towards the counter again.

"They know," he repeated.

"Who knows?"

"Everybody."

"Everybody who?"

"_Everybody."_ Lorelai slid into one of the only empty stools, and Luke set down a giant mug in front of her. "You'll need this."

"But how?" Luke poured coffee into the mug, and made an almost terrifying growl.

"I don't know. But it's _all_ I've been hearing about this morning." He pointed angrily towards the part of the counter. "Babette and Patty spent the entire first part of the morning down there, going on, and on, and _on_ about things that are none of their business. Kirk has been obnoxious all morning, and Taylor would have been infuriating even without the lecture."

"He lectured you?" Lorelai couldn't help but laugh sympathetically. "It was East Side Tillie, wasn't it?"

"Who knows, all of the people in this town are crazy, meddling, gossiping-"

"Luke, calm down," she cut him off, grinning and taking a sip of her coffee. "Why does this bother you so much? We knew this would happen."

"Because! You don't want anyone to know yet, and these people damn well better respect that! I am _not_ letting these…these…_crazy people_ screw this up for us. I-"

"Luke!" She chuckled, "I don't care about that, I know these people. They meddle. If everyone knows already, that just means you can kiss me good morning." She leaned forward and puckered up; he rolled his eyes, but his lips still curled into a small smile before he closed the distance between them and pressed them up against hers.

"I'll go make your pancakes." Lorelai grinned, and took a long, satisfying sip of coffee, while she watched him disappear into the kitchen. She glanced around behind her to where Miss Patty was still sitting in the corner sipping her coffee. Her eyes were wide, the arm holding her cup of tea stopping in mid-air. Lorelai turned back to her coffee, unable to hide her smile, and took another satisfying gulp of the best coffee in the world.


	2. 08x02: Crazy Days and Lucky Pennies

08x02

**Crazy Days and Lucky Pennies**

Early September was one of the best time of the year in Stars Hollow. The trees in town had begun fading from bright green to a pale, golden yellow. The hills in the distance were a blur of deep greens and golds. The repetitive choruses of "…lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer…" floated over the down square as Lorelai made her way towards the crowds of people enjoying the festival.

When she pushed open the door to the diner, it was almost empty. Luke was standing by the cash register, flipping through some receipts. He glanced up and offered her a small smile in greeting before going back to his papers. Lorelai dropped her purse on the counter and sat down on the stool in front of her. She stared at him intently; several seconds passed before he glanced back up at her.

"No."

Lorelai stuck out her bottom lip.

"Please?"

"No."

"But Luke-"

"You already had two cups this morning and I know damn good and well you had some when you got to the inn."

"But…" Lorelai sighed, frustrated. "Don't you love me?"

Luke took a long, deep breath.

"Fine," he grumbled; Lorelai smirked, satisfied with the twitch at the corner of his mouth. Luke turned and grabbed a clean coffee cup, setting it down in front of her before filling it up. She lifted it to her mouth, breathing in the sweet scent before taking a sip.

"Mmmm."

"You have a problem."

"But you _do _love me." She grinned sweetly from behind the mug. He glanced back up from his receipts and grinned.

"You bet I do." Lorelai's heart fluttered and she smiled while she sipped her coffee.

She felt movement next to her, and glanced over to see Kirk, dressed in a shabby pinstriped suit.

"Lorelai." He perched on the stool next to her, briefcase in his lap.

"Uh, Kirk."

"I have some business to discuss with you."

Lorelai glanced over at Luke, who was watching the exchange with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, sure. What's up?"

"Well, as you know, Lulu and I will be getting married in the spring."

"Yep, at the inn. I just met with Lulu this morning."

"Yes. Well, I want to give Lulu the wedding she wants. And it…well, it hasn't been cheap. She has very expensive taste."

"I can't give you any more discounts, Kirk. I'm sorry."

"That's not what I'm asking." Kirk straightened his back in an attempt to be professional. "I was wondering if you have any positions available."

"I'm…sorry?"

"At the inn. It doesn't really matter what, I'm pretty flexible. I just need a little extra income until after the wedding."

"Kirk…I'm not looking to hire anyone right now, I'm sorry."

Kirk hesitated, then stuck his hand out. Lorelai slowly did the same; he gave her a firm handshake, nodded curtly, thanked her for her time, and left without another word. Lorelai gaped at Luke, who rolled his eyes.

"This town is fucking crazy," he muttered; Lorelai grinned and brought her coffee up to her lips again as he grabbed his notepad and made his way towards a newly-filled table.

* * *

"Sooo," Lorelai sang, after Luke came back from delivering a few plates of food.

"More coffee already?" he said, rolling his eyes. Lorelai opened her mouth to say "No!" but first glanced down at her almost empty mug.

"Actually, yes please." Luke sighed and shook his head, muttering something about caffeine overdose while he reached around for the pot. "But also, I was wondering…what time can you get out of here tonight?"

"Why…?" Luke said, voice dripping with dread. Lorelai picked up on it and grinned.

"The festival! Duh." Luke groaned.

"Lorelai…"

"Come on Luke, please? My parents are out of town so I have nothing to do tonight. Plus, I've gone with Rory for the last…I don't know, since they started doing this. I don't want to go alone. Please?"

"Dad, come on!" April hopped up onto the stool next to Lorelai, back from re-filling the napkin holders on the tables. "I'm going home in two days. I need more of the Stars Hollow experience before I go!"

Lorelai lifted her hand and gestured towards April.

"See? The women have spoken. You're outnumbered, Danes."

Luke sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I'll have Caesar and Zach close."

April's face lit up. She thanked him, slid off her stool, and announced she was going to the library before hurrying out of the diner. They watched her go, then Lorelai turned back to Luke with a smile.

"Thank you," she said. He just shrugged.

"I didn't really have a choice."

"Of course not. But thanks for acting like you do, at least." She sipped at her freshly poured coffee. "Really, though. Thank you. It's only been a few months since she left, but it feels like so much longer. I've never gone this long without seeing her…at least when we weren't talking, I still saw her a few times…" She trailed off with a sigh.

"I know." He gave her a small smile, and she glanced down at her watch.

"Crap. I have to get back to the Inn. Mind if I take a muffin?"

Luke grabbed a small bag and lifted the cover on the muffin display. She pointed to one – a giant, delicious-looking lemon poppy seed with icing dribbled all over the top of it – and he dropped it into the bag while she slurped up the rest of her coffee.

"Meet me here after work?" he asked, handing her the bag. She nodded, leaned over the counter for a kiss goodbye, and left.

* * *

She could hear it before it burst through the kitchen door. Michel's high-pitched shrieking and Sookie's stubborn arguments came hurling towards the front desk, where Lorelai had been peacefully snacking on her muffin from Luke's and finalizing the schedule for the month of September. She sighed.

"It's been such a great day! Don't take this away from me!" she muttered to no one in particular, as Michel stormed out from behind the staircase.

"This is an _outrage._" He stomped behind her, shuffling things around on the shelves behind the desk, as if he thought it looked like he was working. Lorelai knew him too well. She could sense his victim card from miles away.

"I think you'll survive." Sookie, who had followed him, rolled her eyes. Lorelai shot her a questioning look. "There's no carrot cake."

"Fridays are my cheat days. What day is it today, Lorelai?"

"It's Friday, Mich-"

"_Exactly!_" Michel huffed. "Every Friday, I have one slice of carrot cake for my mid-afternoon snack. Sookie makes it particularly for me. It has reduced sugar, no gluten, and is only ninety-seven calories. So, just moments ago, I walked into the kitchen, and do you know what I did not find?"

Lorelai raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, I'm going to guess carrot ca-"

"_Carrot cake!_ There is no carrot cake today, she says! I have no carrots today, she says!

By this point, Lorelai can hardly understand the thick, French accent taking over his rambling, something that happened quite often when he was upset.

"Michel, I told you! Jackson's carrot crop wasn't that great this year – those kids he hired last year, they were awful, I swear – and he had to go out of town this weekend to buy some from a friend of his out of state. I couldn't make the bread this morning! I'm sorr-"

Sookie stopped abruptly, her hand immediately landing on top of her giant belly. Lorelai eyed her curiously.

"…Sookie?"

"Oh no."

"Sookie, what's wrong?" Lorelai pushed Michel aside, ignoring his babbling, and stepped out from behind the desk. Sookie screwed her face up inpain.

"Oh no, no no no. Not now. Not yet. Not for another – ahh!" She grabbed onto the side of wall for support.

"Michel, you're in charge until I get back. Sookie, let's go." She placed her hand on Sookie's shoulder, ready to help her to the Jeep parked out back. She looked up at Lorelai, terrified.

"Jackson's hours away! I can't do this now!" Lorelai ushered her towards the kitchen door, and she reluctantly followed. "And the kids, I need to call Jackson's mom and have her pick them up! I was going to leave early to get them tonight, they wanted to go to the festival so bad! And-"

"Sookie! Don't worry about it! We'll get everything taken care of," Lorelai said, as they passed through the kitchen. "Julio!"

One of the kitchen staff poked his head up from the onions he was chopping, took one look at Sookie, and nodded.

"Everything's on the board for dinner tonight, and lunch tomorrow. Now, you need to make sure you-"

"Sookie!" Lorelai laughed. Sookie sighed, hesitating, then finally followed her out of the back door.

* * *

"Luke's."

"Luke? It's me."

"Lorelai…hey, what's up?"

Lorelai paced, too anxious to sit.

"I just wanted to let you know, I probably won't be able to meet you and April tonight. I'm at the hospital."

"What!?" She wanted to laugh at the unnecessary panic in his voice. "What happened, are you okay? Is-"

"Luke, relax. It's Sookie. She went into labor a few hours ago. She's a couple weeks early and Jackson had to go out of town for the weekend – something about carrots, I don't know – so I'm staying here with her. It should still be a little while."

"Oh. Well I'll let April know, then…"

"I'll call you later, okay?"

After hanging up with Luke and unsuccessfully trying to call Jackson again, Lorelai knocked on Sookie's door and let herself in. Sookie was scribbling furiously on the notepad she found in the table next to her bed. She glanced at Lorelai hopefully when she entered.

"Anything?"

"Voicemail again, sorry hon." Sookie sighed, frustrated.

"I'm gonna kill him! He has to be here! I _told_ him, I'll just get some at Doose's this time, it would be fine. But he insisted…"

Lorelai sat down on the end of the bed and patted her leg comfortingly. It didn't seem to be working.

"He will be here."

"This is _his_ fault!" Sookie growled in anger and then went back to her notepad.

"Whatcha got there?" Lorelai peeked over the edge, unable to make out anything on the page.

"Instructions. I need you to give this to Julio. It's for dinner tomorrow." She ripped off the page, folded it in half, and handed it to Lorelai. "I'll email you the menu with more instructions for the rest of the week. He has everything from there out, but I need you to make sure he gets it. Okay?"

"Sookie, we've been over this," Lorelai said, chuckling with amusement. "Julio was trained by the best…_you_. We've all been preparing for this. Everything will be fine."

Sookie tossed the notepad down on the table and sighed.

"I hope you're r-" She stopped, screwing her face up in pain. Lorelai let her squeeze her hand until the contraction passed.

"The doctor was in here while I was on the phone, right? What'd she say?"

"Eight centimeters already! Where the _hell is my husband!?_"

The door suddenly slammed open, and a red-faced, out-of-breath Jackson burst through. The doctor closely followed.

"Jackson! Thank god…"

Lorelai removed herself from the bed so Jackson could take her place.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't get a cell signal in-"

"_I'm going to kill you!_"

Lorelai snuck out of the room while a team of nurses flowed into it, preparing to take Sookie down to the delivery room. Lorelai gave her a squeeze of the hand and told her she'd be waiting when she passed, and then she was alone.

* * *

It seemed like ages that she sat there, with nothing to distract her besides a monotonous game of Snake on her cell phone and a copy of US Weekly that she was certain had also been there the night Martha was born. She knew Rory was busy tonight, and had already texted her at least ten times updating her on Sookie's status.

She heard movement at the end of the hall and looked up excitedly, expecting to see Jackson. Instead she saw Luke, looking lost and holding a giant cup of what she desperately hoped was coffee.

"What are you doing here!?" She stood up and greeted him with a kiss. He held out the cup in his hands.

"I thought you could use this." She grinned greedily and nodded. She snatched it away from him and took a big gulp. He rolled his eyes as she sighed with content.

"I knew it was a good idea to keep you around!" She sat back down in the seat she'd occupied for at least the last hour, and he took the one next to her.

"How's Sookie? Have you heard anything?" Lorelai shook her head.

"Jackson got here about a couple hours ago and they took her right after that. Haven't heard anything since." Luke nodded, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Lorelai gave him an amused look. "_Really?"_

"I don't like hospitals," he muttered.

"We're in the _maternity ward_! It doesn't count!"

"It's still a hospital."

"But there are no sick people here!"

"It's _still_ a-"

"It's a girl!"

Jackson appeared around the corner, wide-eyed. Lorelai stood up, grinning.

"Congratulations again, Daddy!"

"They just moved her to a new room, you can come see her if you want." Luke appeared at Lorelai's side, and they both followed Jackson down the hall and into a room at the end of it. When he pushed the door open to let him through, Sookie was lying in bed, gazing lovingly at the tiny bundle of pink in her arms. Lorelai quickly approached the bed, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes.

"Oh my god, she's so beautiful!" Sookie grinned proudly at Jackson. "Can I…?" Sookie nodded and handed her the bundle. She cradled the tiny, soundly-sleeping baby in her arms, admiring her perfect little face. "Hi there, little girl! I'm you're Auntie Lorelai," she cooed.

"This is Penelope Lorelai Belleville," Sookie said

Lorelai glanced up at her and grinned.

"Oh, Sookie…"

"We were having a hell of a time trying to decide on a name. Jackson brought up Colgate again-"

"It's my great-grandmother's name!" Jackson argued from where he'd been sitting on the bed next to her. Sookie waved him off.

"Once we decided on Penelope – Penny – we needed a middle name. And I thought…it was obvious. Lorelai. It was perfect."

Lorelai dropped her gaze back to the baby in her arms, and smiled down at her.

"I love it. I'm honored."

"Another thing," Jackson glanced at Sookie and she nodded.

"We have something we'd like to ask you and Luke."

Lorelai turned her head around to find Luke, who had been standing awkwardly by the door. He perked up at the mention of his name and took a few steps towards Lorelai.

"Yeah?"

"Well…I know my mother is going to insist," Jackson started. "We'll need to baptize Penny too."

"And, well...we'd love it if the two of you would be her godparents."

Lorelai grinned over at Luke, who was gaping at her with pure shock.

"Well?" She asked him; he gulped and took a deep breath.

"Well…" he repeated; Lorelai chuckled at his reaction to the situation. "I mean, yeah. Of course," he said finally.

"You heard the man!" Lorelai turned her attention back to Penelope, who had stirred slightly, and was now blinking up at her. "Just ask your sister, kid. I'm the _coolest_ godmother around. Just wait…I'm going to spoil you _rotten._"

* * *

"So?"

"So."

Lorelai glanced up at Luke as they walked through the town square, hand in hand. It was lit up brightly with games and food booths. The gazebo shone brightly in the center of it all, covered in string lights. April had taken Martha and Davey on some of the small carnival rides on the other side of the square, leaving the two of them to wander around on their own.

"So," Lorelai said again, squeezing his hand. "What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?"

"Penny." Luke didn't respond. "You seemed a little…hesitant."

"Geez, I don't know…" he sighed. "It's just a lot of responsibility, you know?"

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai laughed. "It's a baptism, not an adoption."

"Yeah, but you're responsible for them! If anything happens to Sookie and Jackson, Penny's ours!" Lorelai raised her eyebrow at him, amused. "Think about it, Lorelai. I'm already Steve and Kwan's godfather – at least, I think I am, they never really made it official. You're Martha's godmother. Plus we have our kids, and April, and Rory-"

"Luke!" Lorelai grinned; her heart fluttered when he said "our kids;" he didn't seem to have noticed. "Unless a meteor wipes out the entire northern half of Stars Hollow, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Luke took a couple deep breaths while he came down from his rant, and gave her a long, hard look.

"Fine." Lorelai rolled her eyes, but still grinned up at him. "She is pretty damn cute," he mumbled.

"She is," she agreed. They stopped to get some of Maury's salty nuts and Gypsy's lemonade, then continued their walk through the festival.

"Okay, so…" Lorelai said, after they walked in silence for a few minutes. She popped a nut in her mouth. "It's been three months."

"It has." They ascended the steps of the gazebo and took a seat on one of the benches before Lorelai continued.

"A pretty great three months, if I do say so myself."

"I agree." Luke leaned back and looked down at her while she sipped her lemonade. When their eyes met, his lips curved into a smile.

"What are your thoughts, thus far?"

Luke studied her carefully before responding.

"My thoughts…are that, you look beautiful tonight." Lorelai shrugged in mock agreement.

"It's going well though, you think?"

"I do think." Lorelai smiled.

"I think so too," she said. "I'm glad we took our time, talked everything out. Got to know each other again."

"I think we covered that pretty well on the first day," Luke replied, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"And there's still so much you don't know about me."

Luke offered her a crooked grin and pulled her towards him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he kissed the top of it.

It _had_ been going well. They hadn't tackled all of their problems right away, but instead gave themselves the summer to work things out. There had been a lot of arguing, a lot of crying (well, only on Lorelai's part, as far as she knew), and a lot of things brought up that both of them would have liked to forget.

But now, things were good. They were different. When April had arrived two weeks ago, Luke hadn't tried to keep her from Lorelai. He invited her to accompany him to the airport to pick her up, and the three of them even had a classic Gilmore Movie Marathon. Since April had been helping out in the diner almost every day, Lorelai got a chance to actually spend some time with her.

Yes, it was definitely going well.

* * *

_Author's Note: Sorry this update took so long...I'm in my final semester of college and the last few weeks have been ridiculous. But thanks for all of your reviews! I definitely wasn't expecting that, and they were all very sweet, so thank you!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._


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